A past friend
by halfchickensquirrel
Summary: Ash Ketchum was her friend. Misty hasn't seen her friend for four years. Not since the incident after Lt Surge. Nobody knew where he'd gone. (Oneshot?)


**A/N Not sure if this'll be more than a one shot. It depends on what you think of it. I have really had no motivation to write recently and exams everywhere so yeah…. I have about half a chapter for both the apprentice and the youngest son. A journey through Kalos will probably be updated this week. Until then here you go….**

 **Just on the story/one shot, there will be some big changes from the anime especially about the Ketchum family.**

A girl of about fifteen years of age walked through the Cerulean gym. She was quite short with long red hair. It had been four years since she had returned from her failed journey to the outer world. It had ended badly.

As she passed the video phone it rang. After it had rung again, a voice called out, "Misty can you get that?" Daisy, the oldest of her sisters shouted. Misty looked at the caller id and, recognising it picked it up. "Hey Brock how are you doing?"

"I'm fine Misty, you?" Brock said.

"Okay." There was an awkward pause broken by Brock saying, "I'm gonna get straight to the point Misty, Lt Surge has been forced to declare him dead." The gym leader sighed, "After four years and no contact the Pokémon league had no other choice apparently."

Misty nodded slowly, fighting off the tears that threatened to come. Not letting her feelings overwhelm her, she looked straight at Brock who looked back sympathetically; already having half expected the news, "Thanks Brock," there was another awkward pause. "How are the family?"

Line break

Misty put the phone down. Very little had changed in either her or Brock's lives since they returned. Both of them were gym leaders, although they did have help from Daisy and Brock's father and eldest brother respectively. They had both gone home after the incident. Misty kept walking lost in her thoughts, totally unaware of her surroundings. They had of course immediately told the Professor after the incident but had taken no further action.

Looking back maybe that had been a mistake, Misty mused, Lt Surge had searched, he had seen potential in their companion and although he didn't show it must've felt some guilt at the incident. When Gary, Ash's rival, found out at the indigo conference he'd been distraught. He had spent a year looking for his only real friend. Eventually he returned, but was completely silent about what he had found. Misty was pretty sure that he had found Ash but he wouldn't tell them. The biggest clue that Gary had some knowledge of where Ash was, was that every few months or so he would disappear off to some unknown area.

Though that was only until the Mewtwo saga last year. Lance, the Kanto and Johto champion had been forced to combat the legendary Pokémon that had been released to the world by Team Rocket. He had recruited the strongest trainers in the region to aid him. They had eventually prevailed but Professor Oak, along with many others had perished. There was a huge public funeral and Gary was understandably distraught. He had gone missing for almost a year and had only returned a few months ago.

The only other person who had spent a long time looking for Ash was Mrs Ketchum. Though after what Misty had found out from Ash just before he left had caused neither Misty nor Brock to speak to her again.

It was about a day after the event.

" _Ash we know you are in there." Brock called knocking on the door to Ash's room. They were staying in the Vermillion Pokémon centre._

 _There was no answer, "Alright I'm coming in." Brock called out._

 _With that Brock opened the door with the spare door key from Nurse Joy. The door swung open to reveal Ash passed out, having cried himself to sleep. When she saw Ash Misty gasped. He was shirtless for the first time in front of the two of them, Ash had always changed away from them and made sure that they never saw him without a shirt on. Now they understood why he was so secretive about it._

 _There were scars all over his body; even some fading bruises. Misty just stood there with her mouth open. Brock however slowly walked over to his younger companion and shook him awake. "Hey, Ash." He said softly._

 _Ash blearily opened his eyes and looked at Brock, "Hey Brocko." He said with a smile. He looked down at his body and froze. His smile faded and he looked up at Brock with tears in his eyes. "You didn't see this." He said angrily._

 _Brock almost stepped back hurriedly; this was a new side to his friend. Misty shifted slightly causing Ash to notice her for the first time, "Who did this to you Ash?"_

 _Ash just shook his head and moved to get up. Brock pushed him back down his face grim. Ash immediately reached under his pillow and there was a click._

 _In a burst of light Charmander appeared. The lizard Pokémon appeared sad when first revealed but when he noticed the situation he immediately growled and released a puff of smoke from his nose._

" _Calm down Ash, we just want to help you." Brock said quietly. Charmander growled again but after a second Ash gave Charmander a gesture to stand down. The small lizard Pokémon walked up to Ash and curled up on his chest._

" _Who did this Ash?" Brock said softly._

 _Ash quietly muttered a response that went unheard by both of them. "Sorry?" Misty said._

" _My mother."_

 _That silenced both of Ash's friends and gave him enough time for Ash to scramble away over to where his shirt had been discarded the night before. He hastily put it on and faced them again. "Why would she do that Ash?" Brock said, "I can't say I know her well but she seems nice."_

 _Ash gave a bitter laugh unbefitting of a ten year old. "Yeah, that's what everyone says." Ash turned to face his two friends and said in a low tone, "she used to be."_

" _What happened?" Misty asked her curiosity getting the better of her._

 _Ash paused for a moment but then just decided to say it. "My father left when I was very little and when I was born my mother was actually seeing someone else. I think I came from a one night stand, my 'father' never knew" Ash grimaced, "We were fine until my younger brother was born. Me and him were completely different, and I was almost the complete opposite of my 'father'. So different that he started to ask questions. When he got a DNA test and he found out that I was not his son he was angry." Ash paused and observed the sympathy from his friends. There was movement from the hall but Ash ignored it. "At first I noticed nothing different. However after a while he started to ignore me. I was about three at the time so I didn't know why. My mum got angry at him. So he left, taking my younger brother with him. I never saw either of them since. Neither has my mum. My step-dad took a huge amount of money with him leaving my mum, heartbroken, missing a child and with barely any money. Fortunately professor Oak was there for us." Ash gave a smile for the first time in his story._

" _However my mum quickly dropped into depression. All her friends started to worry about her. They were days away from getting her to a clinic when she stopped. She started to be happy again. She found an outlet to let out her anger on." He grimaced again. "Me" he paused observing the shocked looks on his friend's faces. "At first it wasn't so bad. Though as a three or four year old I couldn't handle it. It got worse and worse over the years." He gave a tired grin, with no humour behind it, "Why do you think I was so late to getting my first Pokémon. No self-respecting ten year old would be late for that day. I had woken up at four in the morning, I snuck downstairs but my mum was waiting, there was no way she was going to let me go on my journey. That's what these are from," Ash said gesturing to the bruises, "I had to clean myself up after I regained consciousness. I ran for the lab as soon as she wasn't looking. When I left she knew she had to let me go, she had to keep the image of a loving mother up to everyone else. After I got Pikachu," He said wincing at the name. "She let me go. Now here I am." Ash looked up to the hall, "you can come in Surge."_

 _The huge gym leader swaggered into the room, "I came to see how you were doing kid," He said surprisingly kindly, "And to offer my apologies, knowing they won't be enough." He shook his head in disbelief, "however you kid, have my respect. Anyone who can go through that and still keep up your happy façade that you have around everyone is a fighter."_

 _Ash snorted in amusement at the shocked looks Misty and Brock gave Surge. "You didn't really think that any kid could be this happy, dense, stupid and gullible?" Ash's smirk faded slightly, "I can't really blame you, Surge is the only other to have picked up on it." He paused, "Well him and Team rocket anyway."_

" _But why Ash?" Misty asked._

 _Instead of directly answering Ash said, "I love my mum." Ignoring the looks of surprise from his friends, "I really do, she brought me into this world and for that I'll be forever grateful. The best way I can help her is for no-one to find out about this." He said gesturing to his now covered body. "So I put on a façade, I've become quite good at keeping it up all the time." He scratched the back of his head and smiled, "Of course I couldn't keep it from my Pokémon. They noticed straight away that I'm not who I pretend to be."_

 _Brock's head dropped somewhat, and checking the clock on the wall said, "I should feed our Pokémon, if you need anything just shout for me." And with that Brock exited the room clearly shocked about what he had learnt._

" _I'll go help." Misty said hurriedly. Ash just gave them a sad smile as she left to._

That was the last time either of them had seen Ash, according to Surge the two of them had talked for a while before he too left. Ash was gone by the morning.

Misty sighed, she made herself sad just thinking about it, no ten year old deserved to have that happen to them only a few weeks into their journey especially not one in Ash's position. Nobody deserved that to happen to them.

It was nobody's fault really. Ash blames himself, so does Surge and probably Nurse Joy too. It was a freak occurrence, these things happened once in a thousand times. Never the less it happened.

 _Ash had just been given the thunder stone by Nurse Joy._

" _On the one hand if you evolve Pikachu we might be able to beat Surge, but I will leave the decision up to you." He put the thunderstone on the bedside table beside Pikachu. "I'll leave it up to you Pikachu," and with that Ash walked out. Misty and Brock followed him._

 _The three of them walked out the building and Ash said, "can you guys leave me to think for a bit," at the surprised looks he said with a smirk, "I'm gonna beat Surge next time but I need to think of a way to do it."_

 _Misty and Brock exchanged a glance and Brock shrugged, the two of them returned back into the Pokémon centre._

 _About half an hour later Misty came charging back out of the Pokémon centre to find Ash. She found him surrounded by his five other Pokémon he had on him. "Ash," She shouted, "You need to come quick, something's happened to Pikachu." Ash leapt to his feet and recalled his Pokémon. He then followed Misty back into the Pokémon centre._

By the time the two of them had reached Pikachu it was too late, there was nothing that could be done. Pokémon evolve all the time in a battle while damaged but as Nurse Joy had said five years ago to a distraught Ash there was a tiny chance of the evolution going wrong if they were hurt. Unfortunately Pikachu when he touched the thunder stone to evolve had been one of those Pokémon.

Pikachu had died his body unable to fully change and his tiny heart giving out. It was painless, which was something to be thankful for.

Misty looked out the window to Cerulean city. It was still only eight in the afternoon and the sun was just beginning to set. She smiled in memory of those few nights she spent out on the road with Ash and Brock, those days were something she would always look back on with happiness but they were the past now.

"Misty could you help me feed the Pokémon?" Daisy called out from inside the Gym.

"I'll be right with you," Misty called back. She glanced once more out of the window. She then spun on her heel and walked to where her sister had called from.

 **A/N So there you go my first one shot. I had this idea on my mind but didn't want to start a whole new story. If enough people want more I'll continue but otherwise I'll leave it be.**

 **Thanks for reading and I should update one of my other stories soon…..**

 **HCS signing off.**


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